President Donald Trump is pursuing his America First approach to trade, even as it makes some Republicans nervous. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Even as members of his own party weigh whether Congress has the authority to push back on his trade actions, President Donald Trump on Tuesday slapped new tariffs on solar panels and washing machines.

“It will provide a strong incentive for LG and Samsung to follow through on their recent promises to build major manufacturing plants for washing machines right here in the United States,” Trump said during an Oval Office signing event, adding the actions “uphold a principle of fair trade and demonstrate to the world that the United States will not be taken advantage of anymore.” That echoes a major theme of his 2016 campaign and the first year of his presidency.

Roy Moore has called homosexuality illegal, said Muslims should not be able to serve in Congress and was removed from the state Supreme Court twice — once for defying a federal court order and the second time for violating judicial ethics. But Senate Republicans welcomed him into their weekly caucus lunch Tuesday, a sign that they are ready to coalesce around the GOP candidate in the Alabama Senate race.

It is nothing new for GOP lawmakers to back the Republican candidate in any race, whether that be local, state or national, regardless of the individual running.

The most clear-cut reason is that none of those celebrity Tennesseans is likely to end up running to become a senator, much to the disappointment of Beltway insiders starved for glitzy, if harmless, political distractions in the Trump era and already enthralled by Kid Rock’s flirtation with a Senate run in Michigan.

Under Donald Trump’s interpretation of the Constitution, when the president tweets, the Senate must take action immediately.

So it was with Trump’s pointed suggestion last week, filled with the kind of oddball capitalization normally found in ransom notes: “Why Isn’t the Senate Intel Committee looking into the Fake News Networks in OUR country to see why so much of our news is just made up-FAKE!”

Vice President Mike Pence and Pennsylvania GOP Sen. Patrick J. Toomey talk in the Capitol before the Senate Policy luncheons on Sept. 19. Pence has not been able to help secure 50 Republican votes on a health care overhaul bill this year. But GOP lawmakers don’t blame him. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Pence, once part of the House GOP leadership team, was billed as Trump’s get-things-done guy. So far, the vice president’s appreciable legislative accomplishments are scant. He broke several ties in his capacity as president of the Senate and worked with fellow Republicans on unsuccessful efforts to pass a health care overhaul measure that would get rid of Barack Obama’s 2010 law.

Hurricane survivors receive food and water being given out by volunteers and municipal police as they deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria on Thursday in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Continuing his administration’s sometimes-defensive stance on its response to the Puerto Rico hurricane damage crisis, President Donald Trump on Friday contended his team has responded to the island government’s every request.

In a set of morning tweets, Trump dismissed critics — including some congressional Democrats — who allege he and his administration have been too slow in helping the U.S. territory respond to two massive hurricanes. Following the the second, Maria, the entire island lost power, cash is in short supply, and commodities like diesel fuel also are running thin.

Dozens of dinosaurs took to the Capitol steps on Wednesday. (Service Year via Twitter)

Congress is out but there were still plenty of dinosaurs at the Capitol on Wednesday. Dozens of people dressed in orange and brown dinosaur costumes rallied to stop what they called national service extinction.

The group, Service Year Alliance, is asking Congress to vote against President Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts to YouthBuild, the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps programs.